Jamaat MP criticises parliament headphones, sound system

A Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker on Sunday expressed dissatisfaction over the sound system and headphones used in the Jatiya Sangsad, urging authorities to improve the equipment for lawmakers.

During an unscheduled discussion in parliament, Shahjahan Chowdhury, a Jamaat MP from Chattogram, criticised the size and quality of the headphones provided to members.

Displaying the device in the House, he said the headphones were unusually large and uncomfortable to use during lengthy parliamentary sessions.

“We have served in parliament before and so have you. But sitting for one or two hours with such a heavy device over the head is uncomfortable for everyone,” he said.

He added that parliamentary proceedings had been conducted without such equipment in the past.

“In the 1991 parliament we ran proceedings without this. It also worked during the 2001 parliament under the four-party alliance government,” he said.

The lawmaker alleged that the current system might have been introduced through a budget allocation that allowed certain groups to benefit financially.

He called on the authorities to upgrade the sound system and provide simpler, more comfortable headphones for lawmakers.

Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed assured the House that the issue would be looked into.

Earlier, during the first sitting of the new parliament on Thursday, technical problems were reported with the chamber’s sound system.

At one stage, the Speaker had to conduct proceedings briefly using a handheld microphone before suspending the sitting for about 20 minutes.

Another Jamaat MP, Barrister Mir Ahmad Bin Kasem (Arman), also raised concerns about the headphones on Thursday. In a Facebook post, he said the device’s sound quality was poor and uncomfortable to use.

“The quality of the headphone is so poor that using it caused pain from the ear to the head. The sound quality is also very low. The old devices in parliament likely delivered clearer audio,” he wrote.